In honor of our veterans today, I am going to share with you a military-style workout so you can get in great shape and get a taste of a soldier's routine.
This will give you a small idea of how hard they work for us. I have been around many veterans in my day, and what I notice about most is no matter whether they are active duty, reserve or retired, they have adopted the habit of still being early birds. Many scientific studies have shown that rising early has lots of health and fitness benefits.
Training the body first thing in the morning stimulates the brain to release what some of us call the feel-good endorphins. These endorphins help you feel more alert during your workout and also throughout your day. Not only that, but you are training your body to burn more calories during all of your daily tasks, whether you're a stay-at-home parent, a construction worker or a banker who sits at a desk 90 percent of the time. Whatever your activity level, you are going to be burning more calories if you work out early.
Here's a 10-minute workout for you to try at home. This plan is excellent for all-round fitness and will get you in shape quickly, plus the exercises are simple. Remember to do proper dynamic stretch and warm-ups before. Afterward, do a proper static stretch and cool down. This will help improve mobility and flexibility, while decreasing your chances of injury.
◆ Crossfit push-ups or traditional push-ups: As many reps as you can execute in one minute.
◆ Crossfit sit-ups or traditional sit-ups: As many reps as you can do in one minute.
◆ Lunge curl to overhead press with dumbbells, or lunges with body weight only: As many reps as you can produce in one minute.
◆ Jog: As far as you can in two minutes.
◆ Burpees: As many reps as you can do in one minute.
◆ Squats with dumbells or 45-pound bar for males and 35-pound bar for females: As many reps as you can complete in one minute.
◆ Jog: As far as you can in three minutes.
If you need a demo of some of these exercises, find them on YouTube. This is a total bodybuilding and toning workout, with a bit of cardio to keep your heart pumping. This is the best way to get fit and lose body fat.
Push yourself, but always put form over speed. That is, do the exercises as fast as you can while still being in control so you don't risk injuring yourself.
After you get used to the workout, you can get a better taste of what military life is like by adding more time to the one-minute blocks and increasing the weights in the weighted exercises.